I am actually getting started on this post ahead of time. Even though this post doesn’t go live until the 1st, it is just the 26th and I am already typing away. Aren’t you proud of me?!?! I usually just write and post on the . . . → Read More: August 2015 Stats, Income, Goals, Giveaway, and Linkup

I am actually getting started on this post ahead of time. Even though this post doesn’t go live until the 1st, it is just the 26th and I am already typing away. Aren’t you proud of me?!?! I usually just write and post on the same day so I’m proud of me. One of my blogging goals is to write posts ahead of time (usually on the weekends) so I they are done and during the week, I can just work on promoting them as they go live.

Of course, some of these final numbers will not be available until the month is completely kicked but at least I will only have to plug ’em in, y’know.

Just in case I forget, I’ll just put what the number are now and just use that strikethrough thingy with the updated numbers on the 1st.

PERSONAL STATS

If my weight loss continues at this rate, I should easily reach my goal of 140 by the end of the year.

I am staying realistic though as I frequently read about people reaching a weight loss plateau where the weight just isn’t coming off the way it was at first.

Still, considering that I started the year off creeping up on 190 and that lil’ Wii Fit guy saying “that’s obese”, I am more than happy with my progress and downgrade to just “that’s overweight”.

Especially as I didn’t touch my Wii the whole entire month and the most exercise I got was walking my chihuahua for five minutes, twice a day.

I thank my foresight in not bringing a lot of junk food into the house (my kryptonite) and chomping on flax seeds every time I open the refrigerator.

Also, I “somewhat” fixed the problem with my header. The image shows up now, at least. But, alas, I cannot figure out how to get it to resize. ~sigh~

Oh, I almost forgot. The family had two birthdays this month. Mine (July 11th) and my daughter’s (July 28th). So sing a chorus of Happy Birthday for us! And gifts are always welcome!

On to the “not so great” which, unfortunately, is income.

INCOME STATS

I am still under Leapforce penalty so I am only allowed to work up to an hour. I spend about 10 – 15 minutes a day doing the practice modules but, unfortunately, Leapforce only reviews your account once a month.

Hopefully, by the time this post goes live, I will have some good news about having improved on my evaluations.

It is some small comfort to at least know that I tried…~sigh~

Meanwhile, I have had four people attempt to sign up under me. One in February, one in May, and two in June. My referral page shows all as “Referral Currently Qualifying”. I don’t know if that means that they just clicked my link and signed up or if they have gone through the testing phase and didn’t make the cut. In order to get my whopping $25, they do have to work at least 150 hours so…I dunno.

As I type this, my personal income from Leapforce stands at $233.79 for 17.19 (down from 33 hours, 15 mins for $448.87).

I credit my increase in traffic and social network follows to being active in many Facebook…Click To Tweet

Still no subscribers and, really, no clue what to do about it other than trying to think of something to give away. But I did receive a lovely message from the Andre Sobel Foundation. That was nice. I’ll be sending them a dollar again this month.

I have narrowed down the focus of this blog and plan to post at least three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and continue this monthly series to keep myself on track. That’ll be about 15 posts per month. Probably still rambley type posts but, hey, at least I’ll be rambling consistently, right.

And now that I’ve more or less gotten a handle on my Facebook efforts, I plan to add seeking and submitting daily to blog hops. I have attempted a few of my own with limited success. I need to do some research and figure out just where I am going wrong on that front.

I am getting so much better at making images for my posts. I use to use picmonkey but I have now joined the canva bandwagon.

I still haven’t made time to go back and re-do all of my older posts but it is still on my to-do list.

Thanks for reading my post.

As a reward for reward for reading it all the way through (or at least skimming it to the end), I am hosting my own $10 Paypal giveaway.

The first two entries are easy and can be done everyday just by visiting this post. (See what I did there? Traffic! Lol.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And for the bloggers who hung in there with me through this helluva long post, here’s a linkup for you to post your family friend blog post. (Anything else is subject to deletion.)

I have cashed out and received about $20 in gift certificates thus far. That being said, I am always on the lookout for other easy apps that pay. Feel free to post any of your recommendations here (with referral links if they have them) and, if I am interested, I’ll be sure to give it a try.

And to put the icing on the cake, I got a letter from the founder, Valerie Sobel herself!!!

It’s totally wonderful what you have done…we should have done this ourselves and perhaps still can. Help us with your ideas how we can incorporate into our online message…just slightly revised for our database.
Please accept my hug
And ❤️❤️
Gratefully
Valerie

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]]>http://mscrookedhalo.com/got-response-andre-sobel-foundation/feed/0http://mscrookedhalo.com/got-response-andre-sobel-foundation/Prime Day was a Prime Failhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MsCrookedHalo/~3/EtUXCNxRQo4/
http://mscrookedhalo.com/prime-day-was-a-prime-fail/#commentsThu, 16 Jul 2015 15:15:02 +0000http://mscrookedhalo.com/?p=7950Prime Day was a Prime Fail

Amazon hosted its First Annual Prime Day as a thank you for shoppers who take advantage of Amazon Prime Membership and to celebrate Amazon’s 20th birthday.

The advertisements tooted it as going to be better than Black Friday deals.

After a too brief but still terrifying stint of being a hostage (and getting to see Mama and Papa Pope again. Yay!), Olivia is finally finished focusing on her romantic life and actually gets to work on some cases with some meat on their bones.

And now her scoobies are attempting to take down B613 which, of course, leads to the ultimate show-down/throw down between Olivia and Papa Pope.

Those cases have me devouring Season 4 of Scandal and if it ends with the amazing cliff hanger that Shondra Rhimes is known for, I will be hanging on the edge of my seat for season five in September.

On a personal life front, I am pleased to announce that I have lost 17 lbs in the past six months with 8 lbs being lost in the last month or so.

Gotta thank God for some of the weight lost of last month as my friend says I “sweated all that weight off” in 90 – 100 degree heat.

Plus, I have been drinking a lot of ice water and I hear that aids in weight loss as well.

I totally slacked on using my Wii for exercise last month and only did about 4 or 5 days the entire month.

My middle child and my god-daughter both had birthdays last month and my friend’s daughter graduated high school.

On the binge watching front, I got Olivia kidnapped (Scandal), Katherine dead and inside Elena (Vampire Diaries), Sky finally met her kooky dad (Marvel’s Agents of Shield), and John Snow murdered by his own Watchman (Game of Thrones).

Yeah, I watch a butt-load of television but that happens when you work from home.

Or is it just me?

Yeah, it may just be me.

Just as I had a plan in place on how to work in my 40 hours/week at Leapforce, I was slapped down with a penalty for substandard work which means I was only allowed to work up to 1 hour per day.

All in all, I managed 33 hours, 15 mins for a grand total of $448.87. My invoice has already been submitted and approved and I am just waiting on payout, usually between the 18th and the 25th of the month.

As far as income from this blog, the results were not at all impressive but, keep in mind that this was a very neglected website in a niche (personal, lifestyle blog) this is hard to monetize.

So, I consider myself pretty much starting from scratch with this one.

These numbers are so not impressive to anyone else but I am in love with the growth in relation to my efforts.

According to Statcounter, I had:

584 pageview (up from 508)

515 first time visitors (up from 499)

15 return visitors (up from 5)

And Amazon: 8 clicks (up from 0)

My take away is that with this blog, it is definitely going to be a numbers game.

On this blog, I think that I am going to focus on earning from Project Wonderful because it is pay per impression and many people have their bids set to auto-bid based on the simple criteria of the amount of views. I am sure there may be other criteria as well.

The thing that I am impressed with is that I some websites with bids in the hundreds per day. The majority, however, are under $10. Since that is an easy $300/month, I can live with that.

Last month, I joined and begin using Facebook groups to get traffic and increase my social media numbers.

A few left comments that they subscribed but I don’t know if it was a problem with the form that I was using or if they just didn’t do it at all.

Either way, I went ahead and rounded it up and donated a full $1.00 (which is more than this blog even made. Lol.)

Speaking of Aweber, I finally got off my duff and worked on my subscribe box.

That’s it on the blog sidebar with all the hearts.

It was actually pretty easy once I watched the videos and read the tutorials.

My only complaint with Aweber thus far is that they don’t have a simple plugin for the popup or lightbox.

I took the one that I was using off because I wanted to be able to set it not to annoy new visitors and to remind frequent visitors that they could subscribe. Plus, I wanted the popup and the sidebar to match in terms of design.

I have it set to popup every 7 visits instead of every visit.

But, I loathe messing with my theme and I really wish they would just make an official plugin or add it to the plugin that they already have.

My focus in the month of July will be to settle on a fcous for this blog (it is all over the place), continue utilizing the Facebook bloggers groups, using link ups, and making compelling images to be shared on Pinterest.

To that end, I may have to go back and re-do all of my older posts.

How was your life last month? Did you hit or miss any personal or professional goals?

You would think that some savvy exec would research the “cut the cord” movement to learn the motivations and methods of stream movies and television online

But, no, these old fogies still attempt to control the viewing audience in methods that worked 10 years ago when cable or air was the only two options available.

Before I found Hulu, I use to find all types of ways to watch tv series online free. I watched Narutoall the way up to the Shippuden episodes and even the first few seasons of True Blood.

Now I watch my tv series online legitmately with a combination of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.

1. We are cheap. Sometimes I think about going back to cable. I really do. And then I go over a friends house and scroll through the bazillion channels that I would never watch (I am looking at you ESPN) or just plain don’t have anything on that is new or original and I am so glad that I don’t pay a bill to be bored.

Oh, and Amazon, this one is specifically for you. When you make a show free with Prime, leave it free with Prime. I have watched my way through The Closer twice already and you think that I am really willing to pay to watch it a third time. Uh, no….

2.
We are controlling. We want to watch what we want to watch when we want to watch it. Period. I actually loathe season finales. Wait until September for a new episode?? Who does that?? Lol.

And I have a message for Hulu. Yeah, stop with removing of episodes of a current season. Because you do this, I don’t even watch you as much as I use to and I am even considering cancelling you altogether and just waiting until the show appears on Netflix. Let me tell you how I usually watch a show. First I check to see if you have all of the seasons. If not, I check Netflix or Amazon. I watch all the seasons on those stations and then I turn to Hulu to watch the latest season only to find that you start on episode 6?!? Why? Now you lose out as I simply wait for next season to hit Netflix…

3. We are loyal to a show not a network. Half the shows that I watch on Netflix, I have no clue what the initial programming channel use to be. Nor do I really care. I will watch a show that I like over and over and over again. From beginning to end. I am on my third watching of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as I type this post. If I had to guess, I would say that it was on CW with a 75% sure rate.

4. We hate, Hate, HATE when a show is improperly rapped up, or worse of all, not rapped up at all. I still giggle when my friend first got Netflix and discovered the show Ringer. After she watched the last show, she actually called me to ask when the next season begins. Unfortunately for her, the show has been off the air for years and, yeah, the left us hanging like that….~sigh~ So, shows that leave me hanging, I very rarely watch again. Yet shows that rapped it up in a bow but still left me wanting more, I rewatch over and over and over again. I am re-watching House, MD and considering going through the recently finished Dexter again.

Without this in mind, the television execs need to find a way to work with online streamers rather than treating us as if we are the same as the traditional television viewer. We are a subset onto our very own and we like it that way.

No going back.

My cord is cut!

~MsCrookedHalo

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http://mscrookedhalo.com/it-is-so-much-better-to-be-the-godmother-than-the-mother/#commentsWed, 17 Jun 2015 19:40:07 +0000http://mscrookedhalo.com/?p=7872Happy Birthday to my God-daughter Ruby!

I’ve only known you 10 out of 12 months of your life but, trust me, they have been memorable ones as your godparent.

I’ve only known you 10 out of 12 months of your life but, trust me, they have been memorable ones as your godparent.

From your refusal to take a nap to watching your first step, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of it for the world.

But you sure do remind me why I don’t want anymore children.

So here are my top reasons why I rather be a godmother than a mother any day.

1. The travelling. Getting in/out of a car with you takes 3 times as long. From making sure that everything that you will need is in your diaper bag to trying to figure out how the car seat goes in.

2. The smells. Everybody is always talking about how good baby smells. And you do…up until you load up that diaper. Man, oh, man…how can something so small smell that bad. I think I may have it worse because I breastfed all of mine so I am not at all use to the smell.

3. The cost. Clothes. Shoes (that you wouldn’t keep on your feet). Beds for you to sleep in (that you keep outgrowing). Toys (when you are just as happy crunching my empty water bottle). Strollers. Car seats. Bottles. Diapers!!! The mountains and mountains of diapers. Somewhere out there is Ruby Hill and it is made entirely of your diapers!!!! Boy, am I ever so glad that none of this is coming out of my pocket.

4. The time. Doctors appointments. Wic appointments. Visits to grandmas house to see the new baby.

5. The worry. There is no greater worrier than a mama and though as the godmother, I have to commiserate, the actual worrying is not in my job description.

The best part of being godmother is that I get all the benefits of being a grandma without having to be all old and stuff.

Godmama for the win!!

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]]>http://mscrookedhalo.com/it-is-so-much-better-to-be-the-godmother-than-the-mother/feed/15http://mscrookedhalo.com/it-is-so-much-better-to-be-the-godmother-than-the-mother/I work as a search engine evaluator for Leapforce, Inchttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MsCrookedHalo/~3/b99N_NV92-4/
http://mscrookedhalo.com/i-work-as-a-search-engine-evaluator-for-leapforce-inc/#commentsWed, 10 Jun 2015 07:00:11 +0000http://mscrookedhalo.com/?p=7856 I work as a search engine evaluator for Leapforce, Inc

The name of the company that I work for, Leapforce, Inc., may not be immediately recognizable but the words search engine are pretty much understood by everyone with a computer or even a cell phone these days.

The name of the company that I work for, Leapforce, Inc., may not be immediately recognizable but the words search engine are pretty much understood by everyone with a computer or even a cell phone these days.

And the search engine that I evaluate for, yeah, if I could write the name here, you would be impressed.

I mean, I may say it out-loud to my closest family and friends but I would never write here.

And they are suitable impressed, let me tell ya.

If you’re curious, I do recommend that you googlethe phrase “search engine evaluator job” if you are extremely curious.

And though I wish that I could tell you what I do minutely complete with pretty lil’ graphics, I am in the mood to keep my job and not be sued for breach of contract.

Although I cannot what I do as a web evaluator, I can tell you what it is not and answer a few of the frequently asked question about being a home agent for Leapforce.

But, first, let’s start with a description of the job directly from the website (can’t be sued for that!).

Leapforce is experiencing unprecedented demand and growth for qualified home-based independent agents. We are looking for highly educated individuals for an exciting work from home opportunity. Applicants must be self motivated and internet savvy. This is an opportunity to evaluate and improve search engine results for some of the world’s largest internet search engine companies.

A Leapforce At Home independent agent is an independent contractor that creates and manages their own business. Leapforce At Home agents contract with Leapforce to provide search engine evaluation for Leapforce clients.

Basic skill qualifications:

Excellent web research skills and analytical abilities

Excellent comprehension and written communication skills

Many Leapforce At Home independent agent assignments require fluency in a language other than English. For these assignments, independent agents will be required to pass a language assessment exam

It is not a scam. I stake my personal reputation on the fact that this job is not a scam. You will be paid. I have been paid. I have been working for Leapforce since February 2014 and I have always been paid on time.

The job is not data entry or transcription. Some task may require listening to audio but your computer speakers are acceptable. There is no phone work at all.

Leapforce pay is not minimum wage. Far from it. Especially for a internet home business. Many companies start at $10/hour or less. Not Leapforce. I don’t remember if we are allowed to post the amount we are paid but, rest assured, it is double digits per hour. The Leapforce website simply describes it as “competitive” so I am just going to leave it at that.

You do not bid on or compete for any work. If there is work available, you do it. You do not have to chase any customers or clients.

There is no cost to working for Leapforce. I don’t remember even having to pay for a background check. My only upfront expense was $5 to pay a notary to verify I am who I say I am.

Easy. That is what some people think this job is just because it is homebased. Like any job, once you wrap your mind around the rhythm and the rhyme, the job is not overly complicated. However, you will need to be adaptable to not only learning how to think the Leapforce way but you must also be prepared for that way to be er, re-evaluated, at any given time.

Frequently asked questions:

Does it require a college degree?

I hope not because I don’t have one!

Do you work a set schedule?

Nope. You can work anytime up to a full-time schedule. Just be aware that there may be a flux in work availability based on holidays, weekends, or the last week of the month when, I believe, bunches of folks login into Leapforce to try and meet their monthly minimum. Leapforce has very flexible work schedules that are completely up to you.

What is the monthly minimum?

Again, I don’t know if I can say, but if you worked just 1 hour a day for an entire month, you would exceed it. Or even, jut 7 or 8 hours on one day of the week. Home agents are responsible for making sure that they fulfill the obligations of their contracts as there is no one telling you when to schedule work.

How do I get paid?

Leapforce pays monthly direct deposit into your bank account. There are no other options. (If that is a problem, you can always get one of those prepaid credit cars and use the direct deposit option. Be sure to check out and compare any fees though.) I have received paid my pay as early as the 18th but never later than the 25th no matter when I submitted my invoice.

If I fail the Leapforce exam, can I take it again?

If you fail any part of the Leapforce test, you are given one more opportunity to pass it. After that, well, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. So, yeah, read that kazillion page manual like you are studying for a final exam. In fact, if you have the ink and the paper, print it out. And keep it open to use the search feature while you are taking the exam.

Does Leapforce reimburse for any of my expenses?

Nope. You can, however, apply them to your taxes as you are now running an internet home business.

Is training paid?

Nope. Training consists of completing the exam and you have to do that on your own time and on your own dime. Not only that, but you have to study any changes while off the clock as well. Which is probably a factor in why they pay so well.

Can I work 40 hours?

Sure can. As long as your account is not restricted, you can work a full time schedule. You are not allowed to work over 40 hours, however.

If I haven’t answered your question, feel free to leave it in the comments.

To learn more about your opportunities with Leapforce or to apply to become Leapforce agent, click here and good luck in your endeavors, whatever they may be.